How are monks different from priests?translated

As a person learns more about the world of Orthodoxy, sooner or later he realizes that not everyone who wears the cassock is a priest. In this regard, the question often arises: how do monks differ from priests?

The clergy is traditionally divided into black and white. White is deacons and priests who have a family and live in the world. Black - those who took monastic vows. A monk may be ordained to the rank of deacon or priest. In this case, he becomes a hierodeacon and a hieromonk, respectively. But there are also simply monks who do not have rank.

The key difference lies in the lifestyle and vows taken. Monasticism is a special path that involves renouncing the world and focusing on spiritual life. When tonsured, a monk takes three main vows: chastity (celibacy), obedience and non-covetousness (renunciation of personal property).

That is why a monk cannot create a family, and everything he uses belongs to the monastery. Even if a monk becomes a hieromonk, that is, receives priestly rank, these vows remain in force: he still lives according to the monastic rules, submits to the abbot of the monastery and has no personal property.

White priests are allowed to marry before...